Challenging the madness of social media

Let’s get real, shall we – we all have ups and downs in life. Often, it seems that the downs are too frequent and I try to find an escape. Many people find their escapism in social media, where cycling images defy their real lives and allow them a theatrical existence and a Z-lister fame. However, when the camera shutter stops clicking, these people are often pitiful and nothing like the image portrayed. Men trying to be the cool and testosterone-fuelled cycling Gods, stretched out forward and unshaven and trying to look moody. When their image is taken and the bike is put away, however; they’ll probably return to their lonely world, where they sit at a café, isolated from the broken families and chaos they’ve created and maybe cruelly treated, as they leave a trail of destruction in their wake.

Pouting influencers at the other side of the cycling coin, seem to strut their stuff and bake themselves in too many layers of caked creams, creating ridiculous poses and pointed toes that would look laughable on a cat-walk, let alone a bike – and lonely watchers click ‘like’ and give them the false fame they crave, whilst the real cyclists and athletes, or those simply wanting to share life in the raw, are left alone in the shadows. This adverse impact on genuine women athletes and leisure cyclists causes a sewer of messages to float around the internet, as women have to constantly deal with the disgusting influx of unwarranted advances and ‘dick-pics’ sent to them by those same perverts who keep clicking ‘like’ and who follow the pouting Z-Listers in their tens of thousands. The result: more and more mental wellbeing issues to deal with by women cyclists, because social media can’t sort its shit out and ban the boys with their dicks out. No, the algorithm loves followers and likes – it simply doesn’t want to have to determine which ones shouldn’t be counted or even allowed online.

Yes, the world is a narcissistic place these days, and yet… here’s the positive aspect – albeit small.  Within this minefield we can still, quite frequently find those amazing people with their faces and eyes shining out from the over-populated pathetic elements of a world that seems more confusing and cruel, day by day. That’s the irony of all of this, and the general distaste that social media can generate far too often. You can, if you’re prepared to navigate the sewer, find those amazing and wonderfully real people and genuine friends, and begin to share real and meaningful lives with some truly inspiring people. Social media can still – albeit in a smaller way than it was first planned – be a place where like-minded INFJs and altruistic thinkers, social philosophers and artists can meet and develop friendships and relationships that have a positive impact and real meaning – especially if these relationships involve cycling, the wild and simply beautiful mountains, art and culture.